Highlights From The CW’s TCA 2016 Panel: LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, Female Superheroes, Kevin Smith and More

The CW held its panel at the Television Critics Association tour today, and naturally, the network shared a bunch of updates on its DC television shows.

Network boss Mark Pedowitz revealed his original concept behind DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, which premieres later this month. Also, fan-favorite Kevin Smith is set to direct an upcoming episode for a DC show, while the network weighs in on the possibility of a female-led superhero series.

All that and more can be found in the following round-up. Many thanks to Deadline, IGN and Entertainment Weekly for sharing all of this news from today’s panel.

Back when Legends of Tomorrow was early in development, Pedowitz pitched an entirely different concept to Greg Berlanti and Warner Bros. TV president Peter Roth. Basically, Pedowitz’s idea was for a more villain-centric show; a cross between Dirty Dozen and The Avengers, essentially. Pedowitz admitted that his idea was “horrible,” and the idea that was eventually conceived was much better.
The CW boss then says that Legends of Tomorrow “fun, big and lighter” than the network’s other DC shows, The Flash and Arrow. He then calls it a cross between Guardians of the Galaxy and Doctor Who.
Moving on to The Flash…it has been announced today that beloved filmmaker and fan Kevin Smith will direct an episode of this series. The episode, one of the last of the show’s second season, will air in May. It will mark Smith’s first directorial effort for DC.
Finally, Pedowitz weighs in on the potential for a DC female superhero to headline her own show. He admits that there are “no plans” for such a series right now, but if Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg want to do it, it’ll happen. “…at this moment last year, Legends [of Tomorrow] didn’t really exist, so time will take its toll… There will be a moment in time, I don’t know when it’s going to come, but when Greg Berlanti and Andrew [Kreisberg] and Marc [Guggenheim] say, ‘We think it’s time,’ we’re going to give them that opportunity to do it.” The CW does have many female heroes at its disposal, with Black Canary, Hawkgirl, White Canary, Speedy and more being featured. Additionally, Berlanti has Supergirl over at CBS.
Another female superhero in the CW-verse is Vixen, who headlines her own animated series on CW Seed. That show was just renewed for a second season, while Vixen will appear in live action in an Arrow episode later this season. Pedowitz expressed interest in continuing Vixen’s story, whether in her own live action series or on Legends of Tomorrow. “Hopefully that character is going to spin itself out, if not, it can join Legends.”